Divine Imperatives

I. Jesus had not hidden the fact that He would die.

A. The Old Testament Saints spoke of the death of the Messiah.

1. The Psalmist had much to say about the death of the Messiah. Psalm 22 begins with the agony of Christ, “My God, My God…”, It continues to reveal the hatred of the religious leaders calling them “strong bulls of Bashan”, the Messiah is described as a pitiful sight poured out like water, dehydrated, hands and feet pierced, a spectacle for all. In Psalm 118:22 He is described as the Stone the Builders rejected. The worship of the Old Testament contained songs about a suffering Savior!

2. Isaiah spoke of the death of the Messiah. 50:6 “I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I did not hide my face from shame and spitting”.52:14 “As many were astonished at Thee, His visage was so marred, more than any man and His form more than the sons of men”. 53 says he was despised, rejected, stricken, smitten of God and afflicted , wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities’, oppressed and afflicted, and His soul made an offering for sin. Isaiah called Him a “Lamb” which would have identified Him as a dying sacrifice to a Jewish person.

3. The Minor Prophets prophesied of the Messiah’s death. Micah 5:1 says “They shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek” (Matt. 27:30). Zechariah said of Christ “Smite the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered…”

B. Some that had been anxiously waiting on the Messiah knew He would die.

1. Simeon. A man of God waiting on the Consolation of Israel. When he saw Jesus in the Temple He was overwhelmed. He took the baby in his arms and began to bless God. After his celebration he looked at Mary and said “A sword shall pierce through thy own soul” He was speaking of the grief that would come to her because of the death of her son.

2. John the Baptist understood. That is why John was the first in the New Testament to call Jesus “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world”. That was a clear reference to the Passover lamb.

3. Mary, the sister of Martha had an understanding of Jesus death. In John 12 she anoints Jesus with a very expensive ointment. This upset Judas and the other disciples. Jesus said “Let her alone, against the day of my burying she hath kept this”. Mary saw something the others didn’t see. She understood that Christ would have to die.

C. Jesus had personally told the disciples He would die. Sometimes He would veil His statements about His death.

1. In John 2:19 at the beginning of His ministry he said “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews thought Jesus was talking about the Temple in Jerusalem. John tells us that after Jesus had risen from the dead that the disciples understood what Jesus meant by that statement.

2. Matthew 9:15. Jesus spoke of a day in which the Bridegroom would be taken away and the disciples would fast. In 10:38 Jesus said to the disciples “And He that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me”. Jesus implies that he would die on a cross in that statement.

3. Matthew 12:40. Jesus uses the prophet Jonah as a symbol. Just as Jonah was shut up in the belly of the fish for three days and nights Jesus would be buried and three days later He would arise.

II. Jesus Share’s Some Divine Imperatives with the Disciples. The days of symbolism are over. The veil is removed. Look at verse 21. Jesus would now be very frank with the disciples. From that time on He began to show His disciples how He must die. In verse 21 we see four things that must happen. They are ordained by God in eternity past, they must take place.

A. He must go to Jerusalem.

1. Jerusalem was a significant city in Israel’s history. It is first seen in Gen. 14:18 where it is called Salem (Psalm 76:2). There we meet Melchizedek, the Great high Priest that is without father or mother, has no beginning or end. He is the eternal Son of God that accepts the offerings of Abraham. It was near Mount Moriah which is the mountain that Abraham took Isaac to offer up as a sacrifice in Gen. 22.

2. Jerusalem was the central place of worship for Jews. David captured the city from the Jebusites (2 Sam. 5:5-10). 2 Chr. 12:13 says that the Lord chose Jerusalem over all cities to put His name there. It was in Jerusalem that Solomon built the Temple. Three times a year men were obligated to go and observe the feast of unleavened bread, feast of weeks, and feast of tabernacles (Deut. 16:16). Even in exile the Israelites remembered Jerusalem. Psalm 137:5-6 says “If I forget thee O Jerusalem let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”

3. It had become a dangerous place for Jesus. Councils were sent from Jerusalem to find Jesus and get proof of His false teaching (15;1-2), a council from Jerusalem was sent to inquire of John the Baptist as well (John 1:19). Jesus had upset people in Jerusalem by casting out the money changers from the temple (John 2:13-16). He healed a man on the Sabbath in Jerusalem and the religious leaders wanted to kill Him for it (John 5:16-18), it was in Jerusalem that Jesus said “before Abraham was I am” and the religious leaders sought to kill Him again. When Jesus determined to go to Bethany the disciples saw it as suicide simply because it was near Jerusalem (John 11:8). In 23:37 Jesus called Jerusalem a “killer of prophets”.

4. The reason Jesus “Must” go. To submit Himself to the death that awaited Him. And also because Jerusalem was the city of sacrifice. It was there that the Passover lambs were to be brought and slaughtered. Heb. 7:27 tells us that Jesus is better than the High Priests that came before Him in Jerusalem. Because He offered Himself up once for the sins of the world. That is why He had to go to Jerusalem.

B. He must suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes.

1. He would suffer many things at their hands. He would submit Himself to their torture. Jesus was brought before the High Priest and questioned about His teaching. When it was thought He disrespected the High priest he was slapped. Much of the physical torture was at the hands of gentiles (Romans) but Jesus laid the greatest blame on these religious leaders (John 19:11). Everything that happened to Jesus was the result of the lies the religious leaders told and the pressure that put on Pilate to crucify Christ.

2. The entire hierarchy is blamed. The elder- heads of the tribes, the chief priests (mainly Sadducees), and the scribes (mainly Pharisees). They represented the people and they should have known better. But this was the way it had to be. Israel’s finest would be the culprits.

3. It was prophesied that the leadership of Israel would do this. Psalm 22 calls these leaders, strong bulls of Bashan, ravening and roaring lion, dogs, the assembly of the wicked. Those that should be leading righteousness, Scripture prophesied would lead in destroying Israel’s Messiah. Yet this is the way it had to be. The Scripture foretold it.

C. He must be killed.

1. The word means “murdered”. There was nothing just about Jesus’ death. It is true that He was charged with crimes, put on trial and sentenced to death by the state. That sounds like the right process. But the crimes were fabricated, the trial was a mo clergy of justice and the state knew He was innocent but simply bowed to political pressure. Therefore, He was murdered.

2. Peter brought out this truth in his first sermon after Pentecost. Acts 2:23 says “Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”

3. It was necessary that Jesus be killed. He became a man to bear humanity’s sin. 20:20 says Jesus came to give His life a ransom for many. He paid the debt that humanity owed. Forgiveness could not have been possible without the death of Jesus. Heb. 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. Jesus was killed by man for man. If He had not died for us then salvation would not be possible.

D. He must rise again on the third day.

1. Obviously Jesus could not stay dead. A dead Savior cannot save anyone. Jesus compared Himself to Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights…If Jonah had stayed in the fish he would have been no use to the Ninevites. If Christ had stayed in the tomb He would have been no use to us, as far as salvation was concerned. Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:17 “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins”.

2. Scripture says Jesus was raised for our justification. Romans 4:25 says He “was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification”. Jesus died for our sins. He rose so that His death could be applied to us. If he had not risen, we would not exercise faith in Him. What did Jesus promise? He promised to deliver us from death. Who would believe that a Savior that could not deliver Himself from death could deliver anyone else from it? No one. The resurrection proves to us that Christ is the Savior. Our faith is based on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. It is the sign that Jesus has given us.

3. Why must Jesus rise? To validate Himself, that is to prove God true, and to give believer’s a sign. We are justified as we place our faith in the risen Christ.

III. Peter attempts to stop the Divine Imperatives.

A. Let’s look at what Peter does.

1. Peter takes Jesus aside. That is what the word “took” means in v. 22. After hearing very clearly what is going to happen to Jesus Peter grabs the Lord and takes Him away from the twelve to have a talk.

2. Peter began to rebuke the Lord. He is telling Jesus He is wrong, he is chiding the Lord, he is treating the Lord as if He is a sinner.

3. Note what Peter is saying. “This will never happen!” Peter has way overstepped the boundary here. He calls Jesus Lord, but in fact he is attempting to be Lord over Jesus.

B. Jesus responds to Peter.

1. What He says must have shocked Peter. “Get behind Me Satan”. He is saying “Peter you have become Satan’s mouthpiece”. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness to abandon the plan of the cross He responded in almost an identical way saying “get thee hence Satan”.

2. He explains to Peter the seriousness of his actions. “You are an offense to me”. A stumbling stone. Peter had just been called the rock, now he is called a stumbling stone. Peter had just heard “Blessed art thou” after a courageous statement, now he hears “Cursed art thou!” Peter had just been told he was inspired by God, now he is told he is inspired by Satan. What Satan could not do himself in the wilderness he is attempting to do through Peter. Peter wants Jesus to make a detour and abandon the cross.

3. This is a reminder to us all. During hardship and trial we can easily forget to seek God’s will. We erroneously believe sometime that God will not lead us into dark days. He will and it is our responsibility to remain content in His will.

C. The cross is the desire of God.

1. Peter could not see that. Jesus told him “You desire the things of man”. Of course Jesus is talking about godly men. The ungodly religious leaders wanted Jesus on a cross. The disciples, as lovers of Christ didn’t want Him to die. They didn’t want Him shamed, tortured, and killed. They wanted the Messiah on a throne in Jerusalem ruling the earth. Peter just couldn’t see how the cords fit into all that.

2. We need to see the cross as the desire of God. Jesus says in v. 23 that He “savored” the things of God. That word includes the affections of a person. Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus looked to cross as a joy that was set before Him, despising the shame, but nevertheless He saw the joy. Isaiah 53:10 of Jesus that “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him”. The Hebrew word for “Pleased” means “to take pleasure in”. This may be hard to understand, but the only one that enjoyed the cross more than the Pharisees was the Lord Himself.

3. The cross was God’s desire because of what it accomplished. It showed humanity the seriousness of sin. In the cross we see the holiness of God. That God is serious about sin. It shows the love of God to us as well. Nothing expresses God’s love for us like the cross. It opens up heaven for us. Salvation is impossible without the cross. That is why it is the desire of God. That is why it brings delight to the Lord. We do well to note how serious Jesus gets when someone tries to remove His cross. May we never remove it from our preaching, our worship, our writings, our witnessing or our hearts.